Bought a Note 4, question on battery.

[ASD Dad]

Hey all! I just got a NV-910V that was listed as mint in used condition. I also bought a brand new factory Samsung battery. Phone really is in great shape, screen is flawless with just a couple tiny marks in the bezel.

It was fully reset and running 6.0.1 and had the May 2017 security patch installed.

I went through and disabled a lot of the bloatware I would never use, installed a few apps (Spotify, CVS, my Bank, Swiftkey, Keep, GSAM, Garmin and Google Photos).

Updated apps I do use, did a cache wipe and then charged it fully. My question is about expected battery life on the phone.

Currently - 73% battery, 1 hour 50 minutes turned on, 48 minutes of screen time and it says I only have 5 hours left...

That seems really short and it is losing a lot quickly! Top user of battery is Screen at 4% with Android System at 2%, Bluetooth, Chrome, Android OS and Standby are all 1% and that is it for stats. I have a cell tower about 1 mile from my house and I can actually see the top so I get full signal anywhere in my house and it is always green on the battery monitor.

Is this normal? It is only a day old so it hasnt really "settled" yet or had many cycles but I was shocked to see it drop so fast. I just got rid of my Droid Z Force and I could get 4 hours SOT easily and still have some decent charge left at the end of the day.

I have Location in Power Saving, WiFi is on all the time as is BT since I have a Garmin 230 I wear as a smartwatch as well as fitness watch. On my Droid I had Location on high accuracy but otherwise settings are the same.

Besides the battery concerns I like the phone a lot so far. It did get pretty hot during updates but that is expected. Gets a little warm using Chrome but not enough to worry me yet. I have not tried any games. This phone ticked a lot of boxes, was cheap and I like that I can swap the battery if needed. I had a S7 and Note 5 and kept neither longer than a few months. Heard the Note 4 was the last great Samsung so wanted to check one out.

 

[underway99]

I'd give it few days for the phone to finish all of its initial housekeeping, then look again. The "gee-whiz" goes away too, and you just leave the phone alone when not actually using it. You'll get a much better picture of power consumption.

That Note 4 is a beast. My wife only moved on for Samsung Pay. Her Note 4 (with a new battery several months ago) was routinely getting 12-15 hours and 4+ hours SOT on a charge. She had location on high, WiFi and BT enabled, and was connected to a Gear S2 watch. I had the usual bloat shut off, and she used Chrome shortcuts instead of social media apps. Her battery level tanked when she played Pokemon Go with the kids though.

I'd suggest that you look at the date code on the battery. The replaceable batteries deteriorate (even on the shelf) just like the non-replaceable batteries do. If you buy a new battery with a 2014 build date, it's as old as the phone. When I buy from eBay or Amazon, they have tended to be older. I have typically found the fresher batteries at our carrier's site. I bought our new battery from Verizon in December 2016, and it has a May 2016 date on it.

 

[ASD Dad]

Thanks for the quick reply. Stupid question and Google didnt help, where is the date code on my battery? I have a SN and a QR code but that is it.

I'll give it a few days and see how it goes.

 

[AXEL314]

I'll echo giving it a few days of use to see what kind out battery life you'll be getting. I bought my Note 4 brand new January of 2016 and haven't had any issues since then. averaging about 3.5 to 4 hours of screen-on-time.

 

[anon(5719825)]

If you continue having short battery life cycles, you might even want to consider rooting the phone and installing a custom debloated ROM.

I don't really use my Note 4 all that much any more other then as a remote for my TV/Stereo/Cable box. In standby with a debloated ROM, it goes for about 7 days strictly on WiFi, no sim installed.

 

[ASD Dad]

After using it several days I am getting OK battery life. I can get through a full day with about 2 hours SOT and I still have 30% or more at the end of the evening.

BUT - new issue (and old). Past two charges, the phone gets to 20% and then just turns off! I read on here and other forums that the battery is most likely shot. Best bet to get a new battery? Any recommendations from the dozen or so on Amazon? The old issue is that any usage really drops the charge fast, even just browsing really drops it down. I am guessing that is also a dying cell.

At least I can replace it easily!

 

[AXEL314]

that new samsung battery could be a fake, especially if bought off ebay. I'd suggest getting an Anker replacement battery, overall trusted brand for a lot of our smartphone needs.

 

[ASD Dad]

Battery was from Amazon and if it does it again this weekend I am sending it back! I have Anker chargers that I like a lot so will check them out.

 

[natehoy]

The "20% and dead" is a very common symptom of a battery with a failing cell. That battery will go downhill quite fast since the remaining cells are now trying to take up the load. It could possibly get very warm in the process and cause other problems.

I have had excellent luck with the two Anker batteries I have used on my Note 4.

As my second one has reached the "doesn't last as long as it used to" phase, I recently picked up an EnergyPal one and while it was very inexpensive and a decent battery, the battery life isn't all that impressive.

I've heard good things about PowerBear. And of course several companies (ZeroLemon comes to mind and their reputation seems good) also make "beast mode" batteries that are twice or three times the capacity of a regular Note 4 battery - if you can tolerate the extra weight and thickness that's one way to make sure you get through the day. LOL